1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a card connector device that is used while a card such as a small memory card is loaded thereto. More particularly, the invention relates to a card connector device constituted in such a fashion that when a card is once pushed into the depth while it is loaded, the card can be ejected.
2. Description of the Related Art
A card connector device is mounted to a variety of electronic appliances such as a digital camera and PDA (Personal Data Assistance: mobile terminal). Electronic data is stored when a card such as a small memory card is load to this card connector device, or electronic data stored in the small memory card is read into the electronic appliance.
A prior art example of the card connector devices of this kind includes a housing having an insertion space into which a card is loaded, a plurality of connection terminals fixed to the housing and exposed inside the insertion space, a slider capable of reciprocating in a loading/ejection direction of the card while keeping engagement with the card, an urging member for urging the slider in the ejection direction of the card, a lock mechanism for locking the slider at a position at which the card is loaded to the housing and a lock release mechanism for releasing the lock state of the slider by pushing once the card from its loading position into the depth.
In the card connector device having the construction described above, the card is held at the loading position as the connection terminals keep pressure contact with the terminals of the card while the card is loaded to the housing. A resilient plate protruding in the card loading direction is provided to the slider. When this resilient plate is resiliently engaged with a recess formed in the side edge of the card, the card in the load process is prevented from accidentally falling off due to external force such as vibration.
In the conventional card connector device described above, the resilient plate provided to the slider is resiliently urged into the recess of the card so as to hold the card at its loading position. To accomplish a reliable holding operation, therefore, the urging force of the resilient plate must be set to a relatively large value. When the resilient plate having large urging force is used, however, fall-off of the card can be effectively prevented but the sliding load of the resilient plate applied to the side edge of the card becomes great, too. Therefore, the card must be pushed into and pulled out against the large sliding load of the resilient plate, and the operation factor of card loading/rejection gets deteriorated. Since the resilient plate must be provided as a discrete component to the slider, the number of components increases, thereby inviting the increase of the production cost. Incidentally, the operation factor of card loading/ejection can be improved when a resilient plate having relatively small urging force is used. However, because the card holding force of the resilient plate drops, the problem that the card is more likely to fall off during its loading process occurs.
In view of the problems of the prior art technologies described above, the invention aims at providing a card connector device capable of improving an operation factor of card loading/ejection and reliably preventing fall-off of a card under a loaded state.
To accomplish the object described above, a card connector device according to the invention includes a housing having an insertion space into which a card is loaded, a slider capable of reciprocating in a loading/ejection direction of the card while keeping engagement with the card, an urging member for resiliently urging the slider in the ejection direction of the card, a lock mechanism for locking the slider at a position at which the card is loaded into the housing and a lock release mechanism for releasing the lock state of the slider when the card is once pushed into the depth from the loading position thereof, wherein a protrusion capable of engaging with and disengaging from a recess formed at a side edge of the card is formed in the slider, the slider is allowed to undergo displacement at the ejection position of the card in a direction in which the protrusion disengages from the recess, and movement of the slider is restricted in a direction in which the protrusion does not disengage from the recess at the loading position of the card.
According to the card connector device having the construction described above, the protrusion of the slider can be disengaged from the recess of the card when the card is load into and ejected from the housing. Therefore, the protrusion can reduce the sliding load imparted to the side edge of the card and an operation factor of card loading/ejection can be improved. While the card is loaded into the housing, movement of the slider is restricted in a direction in which the protrusion keeping engagement with the recess of the card does not disengage from the recess. Consequently, even when any external force such as vibration acts on the card connector device, the card can be held at the loading position and its accidental fall-off can be prevented reliably. Further, because the card fall-off prevention mechanism can be constituted without the necessity for providing a separate component to the slider, the number of components can be reduced and an economical card connector device can be accomplished.
In the construction described above, the lock mechanism and the lock release mechanism are constituted by an engagement pin one of the ends of which is pivotally supported and the other end of which is allowed to rock, and by a heart-shaped cam groove defined in the housing. The heart-shaped cam groove includes a pin engagement portion for anchoring the other end of the engagement pin and holding the card at the loading position and an ejection path for guiding the other end of the engagement pin in the ejection process of the card from its loading position. Preferably, this card connector device has a construction such that when the card is once pushed into the depth from the loading position, the other end of the engagement pin anchored by the pin engagement portion moves into the ejection path and the lock state of the slider is released. When such a construction is employed, the lock mechanism and the lock release mechanism can be accomplished through a simple construction, and loading and ejection of the card into and from the housing can be made by one-push operation. Therefore, a card connector device having a high operation factor can be accomplished at a low cost.
In the construction described above, it is preferred that a notch and a guide wall for guiding reciprocation of the slider are formed in the housing, the protrusion and a restriction portion are formed at an end of the slider in the card ejection direction, the restriction portion is allowed to oppose the notch at the ejection position of the card, thereby permitting the slider to rock, and the restriction portion is brought into contact with the guide wall at the loading position of the card, thereby restricting rocking of the slider. When such a construction is employed, a mechanism for restricting the protrusion of the slider in a direction in which it does not disengage from the recess of the card can be accomplished with a simple construction.
In the construction described above, it is preferred that a guide protrusion is formed in the slider, a guide groove into which the guide protrusion is fitted is formed in the housing, and the guide groove and the guide wall together restrict movement, in both side directions, of an end portion of the slider in the card loading direction. When such a construction is employed, both rocking of the slider and its reciprocation can be smoothly carried out.
In the construction described above, it is preferred that a component of force urging slantingly the slider in the ejection direction of the card is imparted to the urging member and urges the protrusion of the slider in a direction in which the protrusion engages with the recess of the card. When such a construction is employed, the common urging member allows the slider to conduct both rocking and reciprocation in the ejection direction.
In the construction described above, it is preferred that the protrusion is shaped into a mountain shape protruding towards the insertion space, a front edge of the card pushes a slope of the protrusion on the foreground side during the card loading process to thereby permit the protrusion to rock in a direction in which the protrusion disengages from the recess of the card, an edge of the recess pushes the slope of the protrusion on the depth side during the card ejection process to thereby permit the protrusion to rock in a direction in which the protrusion disengages from the recess of the card. When such a construction is employed, it becomes possible to reliably engage the protrusion with the recess of the card during the loading process of the card and to reliably disengage the protrusion from the recess of the card during the ejection process of the card from the housing.